The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.

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Sunday, April 17, 2016

Advocates Are Fighting For A Burqa-Free Europe. Will They Get It? - Paul Cliteur and Machteld Zee

by Paul Cliteur and Machteld Zee

In this passage, the court implicitly recognized -- that fierce public debate can be so upsetting to one
bloc of people—which the court has lumped together based on their
cultural heritage—that the free expression of others is somehow
regrettable.

Public pressure for bans on wearing the burqa in public is growing throughout Europe.

Five years after France's ban on wearing the niqab face veil and
body-covering burqa in public went into effect, the twin threats of
Islamist terrorism and mass migration looming over Europe have led to
mounting public pressure for similar bans across the continent.

Last year, the Netherlands banned face veils in government buildings,
public transport, schools, and hospitals. In Spain, Italy, and Switzerland, numerous municipalities have imposed bans locally. Calls for bans have grown louder in Germany. In January, British Prime Minister David Cameron advocated proper and sensible rules prohibiting face veils in courts, schools, and other government buildings.

All of these initiatives have faced vigorous opposition from those
who claim burqa bans violate freedom of religious expression and
encourage anti-Muslim stereotyping. One of the reasons they have moved
forward is a July 2014 European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruling upholding
the French ban. The ECtHR is a supranational European court that
interprets the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), a binding
treaty with human rights provisions that are largely copied from the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In interpreting the ECHR, the court often uses the doctrine of the
"margin of appreciation," which means in effect giving great latitude to
the state in reconciling conflicting considerations of public interest,
particularly in judgments concerning the limitation clauses in Article
8-11 ECHR (family life, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and
the freedom of association).

In the case at hand, the ECtHR validated
the French government's claim that the face plays a "significant role
in social interaction" and that "the systematic concealment of the face
in public places ... falls short of the minimum requirement of civility
that is necessary for social interaction." Only two dissenting judges
affirmed the right to be an outsider.

On the other hand, the ruling dismissed other, equally significant,
rationales for the ban. Most notably, it rejected claims that the ban is
necessary for gender equality, pointing out that face veiling is
defended by the women who practice it. It also brushed aside respect for
human dignity and public security as justifications for a blanket
public ban.

In 2014, the European Court of Human Rights upheld France's burqa ban.

Moreover, the ruling did not resoundingly dismiss claims that burqa
bans reinforce anti-Muslim stereotypes. The court said it was "very
concerned by the indications of some of the third-party interveners to
the effect that certain anti-Islam remarks marked the debate."
Additionally, it acknowledged that "the debates surrounding the drafting
of the bill may have upset part of the Muslim community."

In this passage, the court implicitly recognized first that
"Islamophobia" is a phenomenon deserving recognition by Europe's highest
court, and second that fierce public debate can be so upsetting to one
bloc of people—which the court has lumped together based on their
cultural heritage—that the free expression of others is somehow
regrettable. Given the common use of the term "Islamophobia" to silence
and defame legitimate expressions of concern about Muslim practices and
beliefs, such hedging further diluted the impact of the ruling.

While new burqa bans in Europe aren't likely to be overturned by the
ECtHR anytime soon, the court's narrow basis for upholding the French
law and acknowledgement of "Islamophobia" were not the resounding
vindication proponents of the ban were hoping for. The fight for a
burqa-free Europe will continue to be hotly contested.

Paul Cliteuris a professor of jurisprudence at the University of Leiden. Machteld Zeeis a political scientist and legal scholar. They wrote on this topicrecently for Middle East Quarterly, a publication of the Middle East Forum.Source: http://www.meforum.org/5955/burqa-free-europe Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.